Putin Welcomes Closer Uzbek Ties
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MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir V. Putin told Uzbekistan’s leader Islam Karimov on Friday that he looked forward to blossoming ties, a year after Uzbek troops earned international censure by firing on civilians.
The European Union, meanwhile, issued a fresh call for a “credible investigation” into the bloodshed.
Witnesses said hundreds were killed on May 13, 2005, including women and children, when Uzbek troops opened fire on a protest in Andijon. Uzbek officials say 187 people died, either armed extremists or troops and police.
Putin received Karimov at his summer residence in the Russian resort of Sochi, on the Black Sea. The two men hailed a recent agreement on closer integration between Russia and Uzbekistan, a former Soviet republic.
Neither Putin nor Karimov publicly mentioned the Andijon incident. The Kremlin has defended the Uzbek authorities on Andijon, even as Western powers have condemned the incident and have sought to isolate Karimov’s administration.
European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana issued a statement noting “the continuing refusal of the Uzbek authorities to heed the calls of the EU and others for a credible investigation into those events.”
Solana urged the Central Asian state to adhere to “the principles of respect for human rights, rule of law and fundamental freedoms.”
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